Guest Viewpoint: Fracking protection fund needed in New York

Jun. 18, 2012

Written by

Thomas P. DiNapoli

This state has a history of being at the forefront of efforts to protect our environment and natural resource legacy. In 1833, New York created a state park at Niagara Falls, the oldest state park in the nation. New York also led in the preservation of wilderness with the creation of the New York State Forest Preserve in the Adirondack and Catskill Parks in 1885.

In recent years, New York has debated the many serious issues related to the production of natural gas from shale deposits that underlie parts of upstate New York. Recent news stories indicate the state may allow limited hydraulic fracturing in some Southern Tier counties.

If this plan does indeed go forward, we need to have a program in place that will ensure New York's pristine natural resources are protected from harm and that cleanup costs are covered if an accident or contamination happens. I have proposed legislation that would do just that through a Natural Gas Damage Recovery Fund Program. This is a common-sense initiative that the Legislature should act on now.

Whatever final decisions are made regarding high-volume hydraulic fracturing, this fund will provide the necessary resources to clean up accidents and reimburse individuals damaged by contamination.

Here is how it works: If contamination does occur, the party that causes the contamination is responsible for the full costs of cleanup. If parties are unable or unwilling to act quickly on a cleanup, a fund is created to allow the state to take over. Funding for the program would come from a surcharge on permit fees on gas production facilities, costs and penalties paid by responsible parties, with additional remediation cost protection for taxpayers provided by surety bonds to be posted by gas developers.

The program is modeled after the successful New York State Environmental Protection and Spill Compensation Fund, which draws on the expertise and collaborative efforts of the Department of Environmental Conservation, the Office of the Attorney General and the Office of the State Comptroller to address oil spills.

Taxpayers should not have to bear the burden from contamination that damages their air, water and property. The state Superfund program, created in the wake of the Love Canal disaster, has been a successful example of the polluter-pays principle and was the basis for the federal Superfund program.

Preventing accidents and contamination should always be our first priority. But it is impossible to eliminate all risk. If an accident should occur, the state needs to be ready with a rapid response and a reliable mechanism to hold polluters accountable, whether for gas drilling already underway in the state today or for future high volume hydrofracturing activity. In the few days remaining of the legislative session, the Legislature should pass this important legislation.